Breakfast/ Dessert/ mini desserts/ Sweet Breakfast Ideas

Brioche Bread Pudding

7 April 2021 | Last Updated: 26 December 2022 By Aleksandra

If you have leftover brioche bread, you need to make this brioche bread pudding! Bread pudding made with brioche bread is the best ever. Rich, and full of flavor, delightfully crispy on the outside with creamy custardy insides. I used my cranberry orange braided brioche for this recipe.

Brioche bread pudding served with caramel sauce and whipped cream on a white plate.

Ingredients:

Here’s what you’ll need to make this recipe:

  • Brioche bread – the best would be stale brioche bread – dry bread will soak up the custard making your pudding super creamy. If you don’t have stale brioche bread you can cut it into cubes and toast in the oven to dry it out.
    What is brioche bread? This is a French bread that contains lots of butter and eggs in comparison to regular yeast bread recipes. This makes it rich, buttery, and very delicious.
    Instead of brioche, you can use challah, or other leftover white bread.
  • Milk – many brioche recipes opt for a mix of milk and cream, but I prefer to use just milk when making brioche bread which is already very rich and buttery. You can swap 1 cup of milk for heavy cream if you wish.
  • Eggs – are needed to set the custard and also make the custard rich and creamy.
  • Sugar – healthier alternatives like xylitol, coconut sugar, or maple syrup can also be used.
  • Vanilla + Cinnamon are added to flavor the custard.
  • Salt – I add it to all of my sweet recipes, it enhances the sweetness.

What you could also add: I didn’t add anything else to my recipe because my brioche was already flavored with orange zest and dried cranberries but if you’re using plain brioche for this recipe you could add 1/2 cup of dried cranberries or raisins and 1 tablespoon of orange zest. Fresh blueberries (about 1 cup), chopped nuts, chocolate chips (or chopped chocolate) would also be a lovely addition.

Labeled ingredients for brioche bread pudding.

Step by step instructions:

STEP 1: (photo 1) Grease your baking dish with butter. Cut the brioche bread into cubes (about 1-inch/3cm), add to the baking dish.

STEP 2: (photo 2+3) Make the custard: add all the ingredients for the custard into a large bowl (milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, salt). Whisk (or mix with an electric mixer) until smooth.

STEP 3: (photo 4) Pour the custard into the baking dish. Move the bread cubes to ensure they are coated with custard on all sides, press them in slightly. The tops of the bread cubes should be above the custard – these parts will be crunchy after baking.

STEP 4: (photo 5) Bake the bread pudding until the custard is set (about 40 minutes at 350°). Baking time may vary depending on your oven or baking dish. The custard should not be jiggly in the middle. You can check if it’s ready and insert a knife or a wooden stick in its center, it won’t come completely clean but you shouldn’t see runny custard on it. If you have a meat/candy thermometer you can also measure the temperature of the custard, which is the quickest and easiest way to make sure if it’s set and safe to eat. Insert the thermometer into the center of the pudding. The temperature should be 160°F/71°C. Try not to overbake it!

Enjoy!

A collage of 5 photos showing preparation steps of brioche bread pudding.

What to serve it with:

  • just a sprinkle of powdered sugar
  • drizzle of maple syrup
  • just on its own – it’s delicious!
  • for a breakfast, I like to serve it with fresh berries and plain yogurt or apple sauce / strawberry sauce
  • as a dessert, I serve it bourbon salted caramel sauce and whipped cream
Brioche bread pudding is being drizzled with bourbon caramel sauce.

Storage and reheating instructions:

This dish reheats very well. You can reheat it in the oven or in a microwave. It makes a great make-ahead breakfast.

How to reheat it in the oven: put the baking dish in a cold oven and set it to 350°F/180°C, bake for about 10-15 minutes or until warm.

It also freezes very well. Place it in closed containers and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge and warm up in the oven. You can also bake it straight from the freezer.

Make ahead: This recipe is also perfect to make ahead! You can prepare it the night before, let it sit in the fridge overnight, and bake in the morning.

A close up photo of brioche bread pudding in a baking dish with a serving missing. A large spoon on the side.

If you liked this recipe, you may also like this panettone bread pudding or croissant bread pudding.

Did you make this recipe? RATE THE RECIPE or tell me in the COMMENTS how you liked it! You can also add a photo of your dish. It would make me very happy and will help other readers. Thank you!!

Brioche bread pudding

Creamy bread pudding made with leftover brioche bread.
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Brioche bread pudding is being drizzled with caramel sauce.
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5 from 15 votes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings 6 servings
Calories 535kcal
Author Aleksandra

Ingredients

  • 1 (1lb/450g) brioche loaf
  • 4 large eggs
  • 4 1/2 cups (1080g) milk
  • 1/2 cup (100g) sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1 tablespoon butter for greasing the form

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F / 180°C / Gas Mark 4 (if you have a convection/fan oven, reduce the temperature by about 20° or follow the manufacturer's instructions).
  • Grease a 9×13-inch (23x33cm) oval baking dish with butter.
  • Cut the brioche into roughly 1-inch (3cm) cubes and add to the baking dish.
  • In a large bowl, whisk (or mix with an electric mixer) all the other ingredients: milk, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, salt.
  • Pour the custard into the baking dish. Move the bread cubes to ensure they are coated with the custard (milk-egg mixture) on all sides, press them in slightly. The mixture should cover almost all brioche cubes but the tips of the cubes should be above the milk mixture (they will crisp up nicely).
  • Bake the pudding for about 40 minutes or until the pudding is golden and crispy on top and custard is set and not jiggly (you can measure the temperature of the bake to make sure it's baked through, it should be 160°F/71°C in the center of the pudding).
  • Enjoy!

Notes

  • Instead of brioche, you can use challah, or other leftover white bread. Your brioche bread should be stale and dry. If you don’t have stale brioche bread you can cut it into cubes and toast in the oven to dry it out, then pour over the custard and bake again.
  • If your pudding is starting to brown too much, cover it loosely with a piece of aluminum foil.
  • If you’re using plain brioche (I used my cranberry orange brioche for this recipe), you can add 1/2 cup of dried cranberries or raisins and 1 tablespoon of orange zest to this recipe. Fresh blueberries, chopped nuts, or chocolate chips/chopped chocolate would also be a lovely addition.
  • Calories = 1 serving (1/6 of the recipe). This is only an estimate!
Course Breakfast, Dessert
Cuisine American
Tried this Recipe? Rate the Recipe and tell us what you think in the Comments!

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20 Comments

  • Reply
    Phyllis
    23 March 2024 at 23:33

    5 stars
    OMG. Been making bread pudding for years..this is the best I’ve ever made. More custard than my recipe.

    • Reply
      Aleksandra
      24 March 2024 at 05:52

      I’m glad to hear that, thank you for trying out the recipe!

  • Reply
    Gail H Cox
    1 October 2023 at 21:12

    5 stars
    Absolutely the best. I used chocolate chip brioche and it came out great. I had to dry the brioche out in the oven before I could make the pudding, worked well.

  • Reply
    ln
    17 March 2023 at 02:38

    5 stars
    This was delicious! I made modifications and finally had a healthy bread pudding I was happy with. I used leftover chocolate chip brioche. I also added 1/2 cup of toasted wheat bran. Because I wanted this to be low sugar, I didn’t use any in the custard. I just sprinkled a little brown sugar and cinnamon on top before baking. Thank you for a wonderful recipe to start with.

  • Reply
    Shelly
    21 December 2022 at 12:27

    Can you use brioche buns instead of brioche bread?

    • Reply
      Aleksandra
      21 December 2022 at 15:29

      If they have a similar texture like brioche bread then yes. If they are more “light” and less “dense” you may need to use less liquid.

  • Reply
    Elm
    26 November 2022 at 13:31

    5 stars
    I had a leftover loaf of chocolate chip brioche from Thanksgiving, and I didn’t want to freeze it, so I started searching for ways to use it and stumbled upon your website. This has to be the best bread pudding recipes that I’ve come across in all of my years of cooking!!! It was effortless to make, if I could give it 10 stars I would. I’m curious, have you ever frozen it? Thank you for sharing it with us.

    • Reply
      Aleksandra
      26 November 2022 at 14:27

      I’m so glad to hear that, thank you for leaving the comment! I haven’t tried freezing it, but I’m guessing you could.

  • Reply
    Betsy
    23 November 2022 at 03:38

    5 stars
    Can I double the recipe ?
    I have brioche bread and a smaller French bread .
    Can I double and mix the breads together ?
    Or should I do them separately

    • Reply
      Aleksandra
      23 November 2022 at 06:56

      Yes, you can double the recipe and mix different kinds of bread together but you will need a larger baking dish (or simply two baking dishes). You could also substitute maybe a 1/2 cup of milk for heavy cream since French bread is not as rich as brioche.

  • Reply
    Christine
    21 November 2022 at 20:45

    5 stars
    Your Bread Pudding recipe ROCKED !! Had leftover brioche bread & wanted to use it up !! It came out excellent ! My Mom would make it growing up Thank you for the warm memories it was delicious and what a great recipe quick and easy !!

    • Reply
      Aleksandra
      21 November 2022 at 21:09

      Thank you so much, I’m so glad you liked the recipe!

  • Reply
    Terri
    20 November 2022 at 20:40

    5 stars
    I tried a very famous chef’s bread pudding recipe and it was a complete failure. It called for 8 eggs! Insane. So I started researching and I came upon yours. I made it the next day and it was EXCELLENT!!! This will be a hit at Thanksgiving. Thank you so much!!!

    • Reply
      Aleksandra
      20 November 2022 at 21:33

      Thank you for such a sweet comment and for trying out my recipe. I’m glad it turned out well for you!

  • Reply
    Nicola
    3 October 2022 at 00:42

    5 stars
    Wowser. The most perfect bread pudding. Thanks for sharing.

    • Reply
      Aleksandra
      3 October 2022 at 13:55

      Thank you so much for leaving the comment!

  • Reply
    Mary O’Brien
    17 April 2022 at 23:59

    5 stars
    Haven’t tasted it yet, but if it tastes half as good as it smells, oh my. I used a smaller pan so mine took a few minutes longer to bake and it puffed up a delicious inch above the pan. Serving it with a bourbon crème anglaise. Thanks for a lovely recipe and all the tips. Happy Easter.

    • Reply
      Aleksandra
      18 April 2022 at 09:17

      I’m so glad you’re happy with the recipe. Thank you for leaving the comment! Happy Easter

  • Reply
    Susan Ryan
    8 April 2022 at 18:59

    5 stars
    Excellent bread pudding!! So easy to make!! My family loved it!!

    • Reply
      Aleksandra
      9 April 2022 at 06:09

      I’m so glad you liked the recipe, thank you for leaving the comment!

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